There are many aspects to the successful operation of a pipeline. Engineering, design, and construction are challenges that require significant resources and effort. As a result, many engineering firms and owners underestimate the workforce familiarization, development, and qualification aspects of these projects. Neglecting personnel training and qualification aspects of a project can lead to schedule delays, human error, startup mistakes, cost overruns, and other challenges.

Investing in the future workforce is critical to the success of any pipeline project. Important human capital goals should include reducing both human error and the risk of leakage of hazardous material. Having fully trained and qualified pipeline operators will greatly improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the entire pipeline operation and network.

The primary objective of the Pipeline Simulator is to provide an engineering-grade simulator of the pipeline process including the SCADA and PLCs control systems for the pipeline personnel training, engineering, and control system analysis. The simulator allows for the operator to carry out control actions of the conveyance system before actually performing the control actions via the live SCADA or PLCs Systems. The system can be used also to provide initial training and retraining of the control room operators, supervisors, and plant equipment operators.

The pipeline simulator completely and accurately models the system processes through startup/shutdown of components, valve alignments, flow changes, leaks, clogs, and both normal and faulted operations of the system. The fidelity of simulation results in an operator not being able to perceive any significant differences from the reference system. The performance of the simulator will not deviate from the expected outcome of the physical plant, fail to cause an alarm from sounding, or automatic action to take place, so the operator may take the appropriate response.

The WSC 3KEYMASTER™ environment also includes a full-featured Instructor Station which provides a flexible simulator environment with embedded features such as monitored parameters, trending, Validation & Verification, Scenario Based Testing (SBT), and other standard features such as event triggers, scenario creation, and trainee performance tracking. The generic and specific malfunction features extend the capability of the simulator to allow for thousands of malfunctions that may be used by instructors to develop exercises that replicate plant behavior and demonstrate such behaviors to operation staff.

WSC provides solutions for simulation of the PLC’s, Local Control hard panels as well as SCADA systems.